Book review: 'A Heartbeat Away' by Michael Palmer

What would happen if each member of the political succession were to die? That is the question Michael Palmer posed before delving into writing “A Heartbeat Away.”

Charlene Peters

What would happen if each member of the political succession were to die? That is the question Michael Palmer posed before delving into writing “A Heartbeat Away.”

As a physician, Palmer calls upon all his resources and ups the ante with political intrigue that will leave readers whirling through the pages in anticipation.

What is “WRX3883”? Who is “Genesis”? These are but two vexing questions that are answered early on in the book, but the conflict is in how to control both.

This medical-political thriller takes off in high energy, in a moment of action involving President Max Hilliard that continues and then escalates once the misjudged virologist Griffin Rhodes is released from prison. Meanwhile, Ursula Ellis, the bitter and evil Speaker of the House, is driven by the quote, “Destiny is not a matter of chance, but a matter of choice.”

Ellis shifts into high gear to eliminate the presidential succession for her seat as the president.

Palmer concocts the perfect ingredients for a bestseller by adding terrorist warfare, a quarantined Capitol building filled with presidential cabinet members, an outbreak of a deadly virus — and suspicion that lies within one cabinet member who wasn’t exposed on that fateful night of the State of the Union address.